Hardly Alive
by Jackisnotokay
Summary: They're gone, and they're not coming back. I need to stay strong, for my little sister. These kids, they act so happy, like nothing ever happened. They don't realize how bad things are gonna get. Their parents are gonna die, just like mine did. Who's gonna take care of them when their parents are gone? Who's gonna take care of Charlie when I'm gone?
1. Chapter 1

_"Charlie! Come on!" I shook my six-year-old sister awake._

_"Riley? What's happening?" Charlie asked right away when she opened her eyes._

_"We have to go. Pack you clothes, don't waste time." I told her before running back to my room._

_The dead were rising and they were roaming the streets. They were biting other people, making them turn as well. It was just like a horror movie. I woke up when there was screaming outside. And down the street a house was on fire. Dad rushed into my room and told me to go wake Charlie up and to pack out stuff. We had ten minutes. I packed all of my jeans, sweaters, jackets, and t-shirts and a few beanies I had. Which is most of my wardrobe. I put on my converse and stuffed my combat boots in my bag before grabbing my back pack and rushing to my book shelf. I put quiet a few in, mostly Percy Jackson, Harry Potter, and the Chronicles of Narnia. _

_I put my two bags by the stairs and ran back into Charlie's room, and she was putting some dresses in her back pack. Where we're going, she doesn't need dresses. I stopped her from putting three more in and I put in a few of her leggings and long-sleeved shirts. I grabbed her blanket and pillow and threw her doll at her before we ran. Mom was in the garage, putting out stuff inside as we got out. _

_Dad put Charlie in her booster seat and I helped mom before I got in the back with Charlie. Dad got into the front seat, mom in the passenger seat. I noticed there was something in dad's hand. A gun. I've never seen him use a gun in my life._

_We sped past people who cried for help, and the living dead. We got near the middle of town when there was a crash. A bus and a few cars were spread out among the road, and the bus was in flames. I saw a man stuck under one of the cars._

_"Stay here!" Dad yelled at us before getting out and handed mom the gun, "If anything comes near this car, you shoot it."_

_"Dad!"_

_"Daddy!" Charlie and I yelled as dad ran towards the cars to help the person and mom moved into the driver's seat._

_Dad was the only one trying to help the man. But once you looked close enough, you could tell it wasn't a man. He was reaching for dad, as if he was asking for help. But the skin around his face was peeling, and his teeth were yellowed. However, if you looked into his eyes, they were glazed over. Dad reached for his hand,_

_"Dad no!" I screamed and unbuckled my seatbelt and tried to get out of the car._

_I watched as the man bit on my dad's arm and he screamed._

_"Aaron!" My mom yelled._

_I got out of the car and ran towards dad, but was stopped when my mom wrapped her arm around me._

_"Mom! You have to help him!" I yelled._

_Dad got away from the dead man and fell to the ground, holding his bloody arm and looked at us._

_"Take the kids and go!" He yelled to us._

_Mom put her hand on my shoulder and held the gun out to me, "Take this, get into the car, and drive out to the freeway towards Atlanta."_

_I shook my head, "Mom, I've still got a month until I'm thirteen, I can't drive."_

_"I know you've been driving your Uncle's truck. Just go, baby, please." Mom replied._

_"Don't leave. I can't take care of the both of us." I whispered._

_"Grandpa Calvin lives in Atlanta, remember? At that old people home? You know exactly how to get there, baby girl. I love you and take care of your sister." Mom kissed my head and pushed me towards the car before running over to dad._

_"I promise." I whispered._

_"Go!" They screamed._

_"Riley!" I turned and saw one of those dead things headed towards the door I left open._

_"Charlie!" I screamed and ran over to the door._

_I closed it and faced the dead woman limping towards me and I looked down at my gun. I have no clue how to use one. I grabbed it by the barrel and hit the woman over the head. She fell to the ground, and tried to get up. I straddled her and smashed her head. I breathed heavily before standing back up and running over to the driver's side and getting in._

_I looked out the windshield and noticed that mom and dad were gone. Where did they go? Why did they leave us here?_

_I looked into the rearview mirror and saw the tears running down Charlie's cheeks._

_"We're going to be okay." I told her before putting the car in reverse just like Uncle Robert taught me and drove away._

_I was able to drive to the freeway. Well, as close as I was able to get to it. Cars backed up the road for miles. It was dark and people had turned off their cars and had set up chairs in the road. I'm guessing we won't be moving for awhile. I turned off the car and let out a small sob. Here I am, a twelve year old girl, almost thirteen, sitting in a car, alone, with a six year old girl._

_I hugged myself and cried. Once I was done, I looked behind me. Charlie was sleeping. She was also shaking from the cold. I quietly got out and walked over to the back and opened the trunk. I grabbed her blanket from the top of the luggage and closed the trunk before walking over to her side of the car and putting her blanket around her._

_I looked around and people were walking all over the place. The woods were on both sides of the road. At any time, those things can come through there and kill many of us._

_Helicopters flew above us, towards the city. Why were the going there? I sighed and wrapped my arms around me while swaying. Why did mom do that? She left us to die. What kind of mother does that?_

_I then got the sudden urge to pee. Like, really bad. I must've ignored it for the whole ride.I looked back to the window at Charlie. She would be okay for a few minutes, right? I decided she would, and I left for the woods._

_After I did my thing and I pulled up my pants, I heard explosions and screaming. I ran towards them, and stopped at a clearing that overlooked the city. Clouds of smoke rose from Atlanta. The helicopters from earlier are bombing the city. Does that mean that there's no where else to go? Where would Charlie and I go? What about Grandpa Calvin?_

_"Sweetheart, where's your parents?" A woman touched my shoulder and I flinched._

_I quickly spun to face her. The woman was super skinny and had long brown hair and brown eyes, "Honey?"_

_I breathed heavily, shaking my head before storming past her and ran back to my car, dodging the people who were out on the road. I wiped my tears away right before I ran into someone._

_"What the fuck?"_

_I looked up at a scowling man. He had short brown hair and a short chin beard. He was wearing jeans and a sleeveless shirt and he was smoking,_

_"What the hell, kid?"_

_I crawled backwards a few steps before turning around and running back towards the car. I ran until I finally reached the car, I slammed my hands on the hood, and breathed heavily._

_What are we supposed to do now? Grandpa is most likely dead, no ones left._

_"Riley?"_

_I opened the door and sat next to Charlie, _

_"What's going to happen now?" Charlie asked._

_"I don't know, Charlie. Atlanta's gone. We have no where to go." I told her._

_She unbuckled herself and sat in my lap and cried into my shoulder._

_I then realized what that meant. My parents are gone... we're alone in this zombie infested world. I have to take care of Charlie. And in order to do that, I have to be strong. That meant doing what I have to do to survive, and I cannot cry. Not anymore. I have to be there for Charlie._


	2. Chapter 2

We were taken in. The lady, the one who asked me where my parents were, she saw me with Charlie and I told her my parents were done the road a ways. She told me that when they get back, a group was forming at a quarry near here. She gave me directions and left.

I knew I had to go, in order to keep Charlie safe. I stayed on that road until the next morning, and the people who were there were very surprised to see a twelve year old girl park a SUV. Lori, her name was, asked me, once again, where my parents were.

"Dead." I answered without any emotion.

It's been weeks. At least half of the population is dead. There were four kids in this group, and all of their parents are alive.

Well, accept Carl's.

I thought Shane was his dad, apparently Shane was his dad's best friend.

I usually stayed away from everyone. Carl has invited me to play many times, but I always refused. His mom, and Sophia's mom, Carol, give the other kids school lessons, including Charlie. They've never asked me, probably because they think I'm grieving, but I'm not. School isn't the top priority. Surviving is.

I kept the gun my mom gave me hidden under my pillow. If they knew I had it, they would take it away. Shane would. He's our unofficial 'leader'. He bosses everyone around. Gives them jobs to do. Guess what all the woman do! They clean and they cook.

We have these two guys, Daryl and Merle. They catch the meat for us. Daryl was the guy I ran into out onto the road. He was okay, he doesn't talk much. But I'm not the one to talk, I've barely spoken to anyone. Only if I needed to. Otherwise I would shake my head yes or no or to Charlie.

Sometimes I would walk out into the woods alone. I found this little spot with a large rock that I like to sit on. I'd sometimes go there at night, after I have a nightmare. I have to be quiet, so I don't wake anyone up. Especially the Dixon brothers. I don't want a bolt through my head.

I took care of Charlie, just like I promised myself I would. I cleaned our clothes by myself, and I had to give my supplies to Shane. I only gave him half my food. The other half is hiding in a small compartment in the trunk of the SUV.

* * *

><p><em>"Mom?" I asked as my dead mother stumbled towards me, trying to grab me.<em>

_I held my gun up to her head, I didn't want to do this._

_"I'm sorry." I whispered before I felt pain in my shoulder._

_I screamed as my dead dad ripped a piece of my flesh off. I'm a goner. I'm going to leave Charlie alone. Who's going to take care of her?_

* * *

><p>I sat up quickly. As I breathed heavily I looked over at Charlie. She was snuggled up to her doll. I grabbed my gun from under my pillow and silently left the tent. I walked into the woods, my gun ready to be fired just in case, until I reached the boulder.<p>

A few minutes later I heard a branch break in the trees and I quickly raised my gun towards the noise and through the moonlight I saw an outline of someone, or something.

"A kid shouldn't be out here alone."

I lowered my gun. It was Daryl.

"I have my gun." I replied as I turned around and sat down again.

"Do you even know how to use it?" Daryl asked.

I hesitated for a moment, "... Not really."

"Where'd you even get it?" He asked as he stood next to the boulder, looking up at me.

"My mom gave it to me before... she and my dad died." I answered.

We were silent for a few moments before I looked at him, "Can you teach me?"

"Wha? Look, kid-"

"My name is not kid. It's Riley." I interrupted.

"Okay, _Riley,_ why the hell do you want me to teach you how to shoot a gun?" Daryl questioned._  
><em>

"'Cause you're capable. If you can shoot a crossbow, you can shoot a gun. I can't protect my little sister if I can't shoot a gun." I answered.

He seemed to think about it for a moment, "... Fine."

I smiled and jumped off of the boulder to hug him.

"Rule one: No touching."

I pulled away and looked at the ground, "Sorry."

"C'mon, kid. Let's get back before your sister wakes up and you're not there." Daryl said.

"Okay." I replied before grabbing the gun and we started to walk back.

"Ya know, that's probably the most I've ever heard you say." Daryl commented.

"Says you." I responded.

"We'll start shooting lessons tomorrow." Daryl told me.

"Thanks, Daryl." I said before going back into my tent.


	3. Chapter 3

It was two weeks later when something exciting happened. Daryl taught me to shoot, and he told me I was a great shot. I told him it was only because I was determined to be good.

Some came through on Shane's radio. We could hear them, but they couldn't hear us. They man was heading towards Atlanta, and he had no clue what was there. It was a dead end, that guy is as good as dead.

Daryl left. He went on a two day hunting trip, since his brother was in the city with some of the others.

Not many people talk at me, let alone look at me. I don't mind much. Daryl, Lori, Glenn, Amy, Carl, Dale and Charlie.

Glenn was this nice asian guy in his early twenties. He usually makes the runs into the city to get supplies. I went with him one time, and I got in trouble Shane when we got back. Amy was probably around the same age as him, she said that she and her sister, Andrea, were on a road trip right before all this crap happened. She was from Florida.

Lori, she's screwing Shane. I was in the woods one day when I saw them. I couldn't look at anyone for the rest of day. Her son, Carl, he doesn't leave me alone. He always asks me to join the others, but I always shake my head.

Dale was this older guy, in his fifties or sixties. He talks to me a lot and never expects me to answer. He talks to me about his wife or sometimes the weather.

Right now I was sitting on the top of the RV, having nothing else to do. Dale was trying to fix his RV with Jim, since the hose blew out.

Amy was pacing, obviously worried about her sister. I wouldn't blame her, they were supposed to be back by now.

"It's late, they should have been back by now." She said.

"Worrying won't make it better." Dale replied.

_"Hello, base camp!"_ It was T-Dog,_ "Can anybody out there hear me?"_

I stood up and went over to the radio, which was on top of the cooler.

"Hello? Reception's bad on this end." I said into the radio.

"Is that them?" Lori asked.

I didn't answer as I fiddled with the radio, trying to hear it better.

_"We're in some deep shit. We're trapped in the department store."_ T-Dog said.

"He say they're trapped?" Shane questioned and I nodded.

_"There are geeks all over the place."_ T-Dog continued, _"Hundreds of them. We're surrounded."_

The radio made more static noises and then stopped.

"He said the department store." Lori said.

"I heard it, too." Dale replied.

"Shane?" Lori asked.

"No way. We do not go after them. We do not risk the rest of the group. Y'all know that." Shane stated.

"So we're just gonna leave her there?" Amy asked.

"Look, Amy, I know that this is not easy-"

"She volunteered to go, to help the rest of us." Amy said.

"I know, and she knew the risks, right? See, if she's trapped, she's gone. So we just have to deal with that." Shane told her. "There's nothing we can do."

"She's my sister, you son of a bitch." Amy growled at him before leaving.

I smirked, you tell him, girl. But then I realized.

Daryl is gonna be pissed when he gets back.

Lori ran after her and we went back to our chores, as if we never heard the radio turn on.

It soon began to rain and I grabbed the rain jacket I got for Charlie when I went on a run with Glenn. It was pink, her favorite color. Turns out she didn't need it, since the rain stopped a few minutes later.

* * *

><p>About an hour or so later, there was this noise. Dale grabbed his binoculars and looked out into the distance by the road.<p>

"Talk to me, Dale!" Shane exclaimed, running over.

"I can't tell yet." Dale replied.

"Is it them? Are they back?" Amy questioned.

"I'll be damned." Dale said.

"What is it?" I asked.

"Stolen car is my guess." Dale answered.

We all watched as a red sports car pulled up and we all walked over as Glenn got out, smiling.

"Holy crap. Turn that damn thing off!" Dale exclaimed.

"I don't know how!" Glenn replied.

As Shane asked for Glenn to pop the hood, Amy went over to the poor guy and started demanding to know where her sister was.

"Everybody's fine." Glenn answered when the alarm stopped. "Except Merle."

Crap.

"Are you crazy, driving this wailing bastard up here?" Shane asked, "Are you trying to draw every walker for miles?"

"I think we're okay." Dale said.

"You call being stupid okay?"

"Well, the alarm was echoing all over these hills. Hard to pinpoint the source." Dale replied and Shane gave him a look, "I'm not arguing. I'm just saying." He turned to Glenn, "It wouldn't hurt you to think things through a little more carefully next time, would it?"

"Sorry. Got a cool car." Glenn replied.

A truck then approached, probably the others. First it was Andrea, and Amy ran to her and they hugged. Then it was Jacqui, Morales, and T-Dog. No Merle. I looked over at Lori and Carl, and he was crying. He missed his dad.

"How'd y'all get out of there anyway?" Shane asked.

"New guy. He got us out." Glenn answered.

"New guy?" Shane questioned.

"Yeah, crazy vato just got into town." Morales turned to the truck, "Hey, helicopter boy! Come say hello!"

A man in a police uniform stepped out, "The guy's a cop like you."

Shane froze upon seeing the man, and when Carl and Lori looked over, they looked surprised.

"Oh my god." The man whispered.

"Dad! Dad!" Carl yelled as he ran towards the cop.

That was Carl's dad. I watched as Lori, Carl, and the cop hug. They were a family again. They were whole.


	4. Chapter 4

**LPOV**

I watched as the girl, Riley, walked to her tent. It was rare when she would join the group at night by the fire. He barely spends time with us during the day. Her little sister was sweet, Shane lets her bring snacks to everyone at camp.

The only people Riley talks to is Daryl and Charlie. She does everything by herself. For some reason, Shane lets her go on watch. Probably because he knows she won't mess around.

I remember when I first saw her on teh highway. She looked scared with her wide brown eyes. Then when she pulled up here at teh quarry, she looked dead inside. No emotion on her face whatsoever.

"Who's that?" Rick whispered into my ear.

"That's Riley." I answered.

"Why doesn't she sit with us?" He asked.

"We don't really know. Her parents died before she got here." Dale said.

"She's sad." Charlie said, "She misses mommy and daddy."

"That's Riley's sister." I told Rick.

"Since mommy and daddy are gone, Riley takes care of me." Charlie said.

**RPOV**

They were talking about me. To be honest, they weren't very quiet. It didn't matter. I don't care. I got into my pajamas and set out Charlie's before cleaning my gun. When she came into the tent I had her change before we both went to sleep.

* * *

><p>The next morning I was hanging Charlie's and my clothes to dry. I watched as Lori and her husband, Rick, I believe his name was, talk. When I heard the screams, I dropped everything and ran.<p>

"Charlie?!" I yelled as I grabbed my gun and ran into the woods.

"Riley!"

When I found her and the other kids, I grabbed her shoulders.

"Are you okay?" I asked and she nodded, "Stay with Lori."

I continued forward with the men and we came across a walker eating a deer. The deer had a few bolts coming out of it. They were Daryl's bolts. Shane, Dale, Rick, Glenn, Morales, and Jim were all beating the walker until Dale chopped its head of.

"It's the first one we've had up here." Dale said. "They never come this far up the mountain."

"Well, they're running out of food in the city, that's what." I replied and they all looked at me.

We heard branches breaking and I raised my gun towards the noise.

"Son of a bitch!"

Once I realized it was Daryl, I lowered the gun.

"That's my deer! Look at it. All gnawed on by this..." Daryl kicked the body, "filthy" again, "Disease-bearing," and again, "motherless," and again, "poxy bastard!"

"Calm down, son. That's not helping." Dale told him.

"What do you know about it, old man!" Daryl got into Dale's face, "Why don't you take that stupid hat and go back to 'On Golden Pond'?" Daryl then went over to teh deer and grabbed his bolts, "I've been tracking this deer for miles. Gonna drag it back to camp, cook us up some venison. What do ya think? Do you think we can cut around this chewed up part right here?"

"I would not risk that." Shane answered.

Daryl sighed, "That's a damn shame. I got some squirrel, about a dozen or so. That'll have to do."

The walker's eye popped open and it's mouth moved.

"Oh god." I heard Amy say behind me.

"Come on people. What the hell?" Daryl shot teh head with a bolt, "It's got to be the brain. Don't y'all know nothing?" Daryl then looked at me, "C'mon, kid, I'll let ya help skin these suckers with Merle and I."

Oh crap. I wonder who's gonna tell Daryl.

I followed behind Daryl, the other men behind us.

"Merle! Get your ugly ass out here! I got us some squirrel! Let's stew 'em up." Daryl called out as we walked into camp.

"Daryl, just slow up a bit. I need to talk to you." Shane said as he put his gun in the jeep.

"About what?" Daryl asked.

"About Merle." Shane answered. "There was a... problem in Atlanta."

Daryl looked around at all of us, "He dead?"

"We're not sure."

"He either is or he ain't!" Daryl yelled.

"No easy way to say this, so I'll just say it." Rick said, walking towards Daryl.

"Who are you?" Daryl asked him.

"Rick Grimes."

"Rick Grimes, you got something you want to tell me?" Daryl asked harshly.

"Your brother was a danger to us all, so I handcuffed on a roof, hooked him to a piece of metal." Rick said. "He's still there."

My mouth dropped open. That's what happened to him!?

Daryl turned away from Rick, "Hold on. Let me process this. You're saying that you handcuffed my brother to a roof and you left him there?!"

"Yeah." Rick answered.

Daryl threw the rope of squirrels at Rick, and Shane pushed him to the ground. Daryl grabbed his knife,

"Watch the knife!"

Daryl got up and swung his knife at Rick, and Shane got him in a choke hold.

"You best let me go!" Daryl yelled.

"Nah, I think it's better if I don't." Shane replied.

"Choke hold's illegal." Daryl said.

"Yeah, you can file a complaint.." Shane responded, "Come on, man. We can keep this up all day."

Daryl began to pant and I stepped forward, "Stop it! Let him go!"

Rick nodded at Shane and Shane let him go.

"What I did was not on a whim." Rick told Daryl. "Your brother does not work and play well with others."

"It's not Rick's fault. I had the key." T-Dog spoke up. "I dropped it."

"You couldn't pick it up?" Daryl asked.

"Well, I dropped it in a drain." T-Dog replied.

Daryl stood up, "If it's supposed to make me feel better, it don't."

"Well, maybe this will. Look, I chained the door to the roof so the geeks couldn't get at him with a padlock." T-Dog said.

"That's gotta count for somehting." Rick replied.

Daryl wiped his eyes with the back of his hand,

Was he crying?

"Hell with all y'all! Just tell me where he is so I can go get him." Daryl demanded.

"He'll show you. Isn't that right?" Lori replied.

Rick nodded, "I'm going back.


	5. Chapter 5

"Why can't I go with you?!" I asked Daryl, "I want to help!"

"We're going to Atlanta, Riley. That city is overrun with walkers! If you die, who's supposed to take care of Charlie, huh? She can't lose you, not now." Daryl replied.

He was right. Charlie can't lose me so soon after our parents.

I sighed and hugged Daryl, "Good luck and come back."

He patted my head, "I will, kid."

I pulled away and walked towards my tent. I didn't want to see anyone right now. I grabbed my Harry Potter book and quickly went to my rock in the woods. After an hour of reading, I headed back to camp. I got Charlie and I had her change into her swimsuit I got her with Glenn and I changed into mine and we went down to the quarry with Amy and Andrea, who were fishing. I brought down towels, shampoo, and conditioner with us. The water was cold, but it was refreshing since it saw so hot today.

We finished washing ourselves up in fifteen minutes and we sat on the ground, Charlie in front of me as I brushed her blonde hair. Amy and Andrea soon left with plenty of fish, and I braided Charlie's hair before we grabbed our things and went back to camp. But when we got there, it was empty.

"Where is everyone?" Charlie asked.

I looked around and eventually saw everyone on top of a hill.

"Up there." I answered, "C'mon. It's almost time for your school lessons."

I gave her a blue dress and tan leggings and her black boots before she changed and went to learn with Carl, Sophia, Lori, and Carol. While they were learning math and other crap we don't need to know anymore, I helped Andrea and others gut the fish. That was something Daryl taught me, too. He taught me how to skin animals.

That night I sat with the others. Charlie was next to me, enjoying her fish very much.

"I've got to ask you, man. It's been driving me crazy." Morales said to Dale.

"What?"

"That watch." Morales said.

"What's wrong with my watch?" Dale asked.

"I see you everyday, the same time, winding that thing like a village priest saying mass."

"I've wondered this myself." Jacqui commented.

"I'm missing the point." Dale replied.

"Unless I've misread the signs, the world seems to have come to an end." Jacqui said, "At least hit a speed bump for a good long while."

"But there's you everyday winding that stupid watch." Morales replied.

"Time. It's important to keep track, isn't it?" Dale asked, "The days at least. Don't you think, Andrea? Back me up here. I like what, um, a father said to his son when he gave him a watch that had been handed down through generations. He said, 'I give you the mausoleum of all hope and desire, which will fit your individual needs no better than it did mine or my father's before me; I give it to you not that you may remember time, but that you may forget it for a moment now and then and no spend all of your breath trying to conquer it'."

"You are so weird." Amy said after a moment and everyone began laughing.

"It's not me. It's Faulkner. William Faulkner. Maybe my bad paraphrasing." Dale replied.

I nudged Charlie and stood up, "Time for bed."

"Good night." Charlie told everyone before setting down her stuff and grabbing my hand.

"Night." Everyone replied.

"Riley, why don't you talk to anyone?" Charlie asked as she changed into her pajamas.

"I just don't want to get close to anyone." I told her.

"Why?"

I sighed and sat down on my cot, "Because eventually they're gonna die. If you're distant, it's easier to move on."

"Are you gonna die?" Charlie asked.

I nodded, "Eventually. I could die tomorrow, next week, or maybe next year."

"I don't want you to die." Charlie said.

"It's not something you can choose, Charlie. Now, come on, time to sleep."

She laid down on the cot with her doll and I covered her with her blanket.

"Night, Riley."

"Night, Charlie." I replied, crawling to my cot.

I saw a shadow walk outside of our tent, and I grabbed my gun from under my pillow, "Hello?"

The shadow stopped outside the entrance to our tent and I crawled over to it, after I turned the safety off the gun.

"Who-?" I opened the door and was face to face with a walker.

Charlie screamed and I aimed my gun before shooting it. It fell forward, its torso falling into the tent.

"Charlie, come on!" I yelled, reaching my hand towards her.

I started to hear screams, and I held onto Charlie as we exited the tent. They were everywhere. I looked around, trying to figure out a plan. My eyes landed on Daryl's blue truck and I ran towards it, pulling a crying Charlie with me. I shot every walker that came towards us, around me others were dying. Luckily, the car was unlocked. I opened the cab and pushed Charlie inside.

"Lock the door. Do not open it for anyone but me, understand?"

"What about you?" Charlie asked.

"I'll be fine." I answered before shutting the door.

I turned around and saw a bunch of walkers coming towards me.

"Shit." I whispered before running to the back of the truck and getting into the bed of the truck.

As they all tried reaching for me, I shot them in the head.

"Riley! Charlie!"

I looked around, was that Daryl?

"Daryl!" I yelled as I shot another walker.

When I tried to shoot another, my gun didn't shoot. I was out of bullets. I kicked the walker in the head, making it fall backwards. A hand grabbed my ankle and I screamed, "Daryl!"

I gripped the barrel of my gun and bashed the walker's head in with the butt. The walker's around me fell, and I looked up to see Daryl. I jumped down and ran over to him and cried into his chest.

"You ain't bit? Scratched?" Daryl asked and I shook my head.

I felt another pair of arms around me and I looked down and saw Charlie. Daryl bent down and picked her up, "Are you two okay?"

I nodded and Charlie cried into Daryl's shoulder.


	6. Chapter 6

A lot of people died. There wasn't many who survived. Amy died, and Andrea hasn't moved from her body since last night. I don't blame her. Everyone's been cleaning up. Throwing bodies of walkers into a fire, and the bodies of camp members are going to be wrapped up in a sheet and buried.

I've been cleaning through my parent's car. We were going to leave, so I needed to get rid of anything that we don't need. I also had to go through the dead people's tents, to gather their supplies.

There was a commotion by the RV, and when I went over there, Daryl told me to stay back, to go do what I've been doing. No one would tell me anything. But they were talking about Jim, since he was sitting away from everyone behind the RV.

I had Charlie help me take everything over by the fire and told her to make sure it stayed sorted by food, drinks, weapons, and clothes. Once I got most things from the tents, I went over to the fire to help Charlie. I heard groans, and I looked over at Andrea. Amy was waking up. My eyes winded and I pulled Charlie over to me. Amy tried to grab Andrea, but I saw Andrea grab her gun.

"I love you." Andrea said before shooting her sister in the head.

I winced as Amy's body hit the ground. I would never be able to do that to Charlie, walker or not.

Once Daryl drove the bodies up a hill, where the graves were dug, everyone followed. Lori said that we needed to hold onto our old selves, that we needed time to mourn and to bury the dead.

We put everyone but Amy in a grave, Andrea wanted to bury her sister herself. Dale tried to help her, but she refused. I stood next to Daryl, and he was holding Charlie. Once Amy was placed in her grave, Andrea and Shane covered her body in dirt. And once that was done, we walked back to camp.

Daryl told me to pack my stuff and Charlie's. Apparently Rick wants to go to the CDC, since Jim was bit. That's why there was an argument this morning. And Shane wanted to go to Fort Benning, which is a problem because that's at least 100 miles away in the opposite direction of the CDC.

Charlie and I packed our stuff and I put it in the back of the SUV. Well, everything except a change of clothes and our sleeping bags and pillows. That night everyone gathered around for a small meeting,

"I've been, uh, I've been thinking about Rick's plan. Now look, there are no guarantees either way. I'll be the first one to admit that. I've known this man a long time. I trust his instincts. I say the most important thing here is we need to stay together." Shane said. So those of you that agree, we leave first thing in the morning. Okay?"

The next morning I put away our dirty clothes and our sleeping bags and pillows. I made sure Charlie's car seat was secure before meeting with the rest of the group. For some reason, they let me drive by myself, but I'm pretty sure it was Daryl who convinced them.

"Everybody, listen up. Those of you with CBs, we're gonna be on channel 40. Let's keep the chatter down, okay? Now, you got a problem, don't have a CB, can't get a signal, anything at all, you're gonna hit your horn one time. That'll stop the caravan. Any questions?"

"We're, uh... we're not going." Morales said.

"We have family in Birmingham. We want to be with our people." His wife said.

"You go on your own, you won't have anyone to watch your back." Shane replied.

"We'll take the chance." Morales responded. "I got to do what's best for my family."

"You sure?" Rick asked.

"We talked about it. We're sure." He answered.

"All right."

Rick and Shane gave Morales a gun and a box of ammo and everyone said their goodbyes. I stayed by the SUV while Charlie said goodbye to Morales' kids. Charlie got into her seat and I buckled her up before grabbing the keys from my back pocket and getting into the driver's seat. I followed behind T-Dog's van and Daryl's truck was behind me.

After a few hours, the RV stopped working and we had to stop. Daryl had Charlie and I stay in the car while he went up to the RV with the others.

"Riley, I'm hungry." Charlie said.

"All right." I got out and opened up the trunk and went into the small compartment that I put the extra two gallons of gas on.

I pulled out a box that had small bags of animal crackers in them and handed her a bag before going up to the car where Carl and Sophia were in

"Want some?" I asked.

"Sure." Carl answered and Sophia nodded.

I handed them two bags before putting the box back in the compartment and put the gallons of gas back on. Daryl came back, and he told us that we were gonna leave Jim here, that he didn't want to go on.

"Hey, another damn tree." Jim joked after Rick and Shane set him down.

"Hey, Jim, you know it doesn't mean to be this." Shane said.

"No. It's good." Jim replied. "The breeze feels nice."

"Okay. All right." Shane said before backing away.

One by one, everyone said their goodbyes to Jim.

"You keep your sister safe." Jim told me and I nodded before grabbing her hand and we walked back to the SUV.

We all got into our cars and drove away, leaving Jim behind. We kept on driving for another few hours, and when the sun began to set, we arrived in front of the CDC. I made sure my gun was fully loaded and the safety was on before getting out and putting it in my waistband and went over to unbuckle Charlie.

The smell was terrible. There was flies and bodies littering the path up to the front doors. I was starting to doubt that the CDC was up and running. Charlie and I put our shirts over out mouths to keep the stench away.

We finally made it to the front door, except it wouldn't open.

"There's nobody here." T-Dog said.

"Then why are these shutters down?" Rick questioned.

"Walkers!" Daryl exclaimed and I pulled Charlie closer to me as he shot it down, "You led us into a graveyard!"

"He made a call."

"It was the wrong damn call!" Daryl yelled.

"Just shut up. You hear me? Shut up. Shut up!" Shane told Daryl before turning to Rick, "Rick, this is a dead end."

"Where are we gonna go?" Carol asked.

"She's right. We can't be here, this close to the city after dark." Lori replied.

"Fort Benning, Rick, still an option." Shane said.

"On what? No food, no fuel. That's 100 miles." Andrea replied.

"125. I checked the map." Glenn corrected.

"Forget Fort Benning. We need answers tonight, now."

"We'll think of something." Rick responded.

We started to leave, Daryl went over to Charlie and I and started leading us back to the cars. Rick stopped us all by saying that the camera moved. He walked up to the camera and begged for the people inside to let us in. Walkers were getting closer, and Shane and Lori tried to get Rick to give up.

"You're killing us! You're killing us!" Rick yelled as Shane pulled him back.

Charlie was crying into my shirt and I held her closer. Then, the shutters opened and a white light blinded me.


	7. Chapter 7

Once the light was gone, we rushed inside the CDC.

"Hello?" Rick asked and we all heard a gun.

"Anybody infected?" A man asked.

"One of our group was. He didn't make it." Rick answered.

"Why are you here? What do you want?" The man asked, coming closer to us.

"A chance."

"That's asking an awful lot these days." The man replied.

"I know." Rick responded.

After a bit of convincing, the man, Dr. Edwin Jenner, told us that we had to submit to a blood test. Daryl, Glenn, Rick, and Shane went out to grab out stuff and quickly came back. We all squeezed ourselves into an elevator and went down.

"Doctors always go around packing heat like that?" Daryl asked Jenner

"There were plenty left lying around. I familiarized myself." Jenner replied and looked around at all of us, "But you look harmless enough." He smiled at Carl, "Except you. I'll have to keep my eye on you."

"Are we underground?" Carol asked when we got out of the elevator and walked down a hallway.

"Are you claustrophobic?"

"A little." She answered.

"Try not to think about it." Jenner replied and we walked into a big, dark room, "Vi, bring up the lights in the big room."

All the lights turned on and it revealed a circular platform with a bunch of computers. But there was not one living soul.

"Welcome to Zone 5."

"Where is everybody?" Rick asked. "The other doctors, the staff?"

"I'm it." Jenner answered. "It's just me here."

"What about the person you were speaking with? Vi?" Lori questioned.

"Vi, say hello to our guests. Tell them... welcome."

"_Hello, guests. Welcome._"

It was a computer.

"I'm all that's left. I'm sorry." Jenner told us.

* * *

><p>We got our blood taken, and I had to hold Charlie's hand while Jenner stuck a needle in her arm. She didn't cry, but I saw some tears.<p>

"What's the point?" Andrea asked, "If we were infected, we'd all be running a fever."

"I've already broken every rule in the book letting you in here. Let me just at least be thorough." Jenner replied, "All done."

Andrea stood up and swayed a bit, and Jacqui helped her steady herself.

"Are you okay?"

"She hasn't eaten in days. None of us have." Jacqui replied.

I looked at the ground, feeling guilty. I have a bit of food in my parent's car, but I only want to use it for emergencies. Only if we desperately need it.

* * *

><p>Jenner brought us to the kitchen, and Lori, Carol, and Jacqui made dinner. We were all laughing and making jokes, and the adults were all drinking.<p>

"You know, in Italy, children have a little bit of wine with dinner." Dale said as he handed Lori a glass of wine, "And in France."

"Well, when Carl is in Italy or France, he can have some then." Lori replied.

"What's it gonna hurt?" Rick asked. "Come on. Come on."

We all laughed and Lori let Carl have some wine. We were silent as we watched him drink it.

"Ewwww."

"That's my boy." Lori said to her son as everyone laughed.

"Stick to soda pop there, bud." Shane said.

"Not you, Glenn." Daryl said to the Korean man.

"What?"

"Keep drinking, little man. I want to see how red your face can get." Daryl said.

I looked up at Daryl, "Can I have some?"

"Sure, kid." Daryl answered and he poured me a small glass and I took a sip.

It wasn't bad. But it wasn't super good. It was okay.

"Can I have some, too?!" Charlie asked Daryl.

"Uh, no. You're six, Charlie. Ask me again when you're 12." Daryl answered and she pouted.

Rick stood up, "It seems to me we haven't thanked our host properly."

"He is more than just our host." T-Dog replied.

"Hear hear!"

"Hears to you, doc."

"Booyah!" Daryl exclaimed.

"Booyah!" Charlie repeated.

"So when are you gonna tell us what the hell happened here, doc?" Shane asked and everyone went silent, "All the other doctors that were supposed to be figuring out what happened, where are they?"

"We're celebrating, Shane." Rick said. "Don't need to do this now."

"Whoa, wait a second. This is why we're here, right? This was your move, supposed to find all the answers. Instead we, uh, we found him. Found one man. Why?"

"Well, when things got bad, a lot of people just left, went off to be with their families. And when things got worse, when the military cordon got overrun, the rest bolted." Jenner explained.

"Every last one?"

"No, many couldn't face walking out the door. They... opted out. There was a rash of suicides. That was a bad time." Jenner said.

"You didn't leave. Why?" Andrea asked.

"I just kept working, hoping to do some good." Jenner answered.

"Dude, you are such a buzzkill." Glenn told Shane.


	8. Chapter 8

"Most of the facility is powered down including housing, so you'll have to make do here." Jenner told us as we walked down a hallway, "Couches are comfortable, but there are cots in storage if you like. There's a rec room down the hall that you kids might enjoy." He turned around to look at Sophia, Carl, and Charlie, "Just don't plug in any video games, okay? Or anything that draws power. The same applies. If you shower, go easy on the hot water."

"Hot water?" Glenn questioned when Jenner left.

"That's what the man said." T-Dog replied.

* * *

><p>I let Charlie take a shower first, and while she did that I set her pajamas out for her. Once she was done I brushed her hair and let her go with Carl and Sophia to the rec room and I took my own shower.<p>

I washed my hair and scrubbed all the dirt from my body. The hot water felt amazing. After I was done I got into my pajamas and went to get Charlie for bed.

The next morning I woke Charlie up and we got dressed before heading into the kitchen where some of the group was eating. Glenn looked like crap, groaning into his food.

I grabbed two bowls and filled it with cereal and poured milk into it. I gave one bowl to Charlie and set my bowl next to hers before grabbing some orange juice and pouring tow glasses. I even grabbed a few pieces of bacon and a few napkins before going back over to Charlie and sitting net to her. I gave her a piece of bacon and a napkin with her orange juice and we began eating.

"Where'd all this come from?" Rick asked, holding up a bottle of aspirin.

"Jenner." Lori answered and opened the bottle for her husband, "He thought we could use it. Some of us at least."

"Don't ever ever ever let me drink again." Glenn said.

"Hey." Shane greeted Rick as he walked in.

"Feel as bad as I do?" Rick asked him as Shane got coffee.

"Worse."

"The hell happened to you? Your neck?" T-Dog questioned Shane.

"I must have done it in my sleep." Shane answered.

"Never seen you do that before." Rick replied.

"Me neither. Not like me at all." Shane responded.

I looked up and saw him staring at Lori. And I looked at Lori and she was staring back.

Oh, no. I ain't getting into the middle of this.

"Morning." I looked behind me and saw Jenner walk in.

"Hey, Doc."

"Doctor, I don't mean to slam you with questions first thing..." Dale started.

"But you will anyway."

"We didn't come here for the eggs." Andrea replied.

Daryl came in as we were about to leave and he took my bacon, "Thanks, kid."

I sighed and grabbed my orange juice before grabbing Charlie's hand and we all followed Jenner back to Zone 5. Jenner walked over to a computer,

"Give me a playback of TS-19."

_"Playback of TS-19."_

The screen in front of us began loading as Jenner spoke, "Few people ever got a chance to see this. Very few."

The screen then showed us a scan of a brain, "Is that a brain?" Carl asked.

"An extraordinary one." Jenner answered him. "Not that it matters in the end. Take us in for EIV."

_"Enhanced internal view."_

The screen zoomed in on the brain and showed it from a side view. There were blue flashing lights and these wire-looking things.

"What are those lights?" Shane asked.

"It's a person's life. Experiences, memories. It's everything. Somewhere in all that organic wiring, all those ripples of light, is you. The thing that makes you unique. And human." Jenner answered.

"You don't make sense ever?" Daryl asked.

"Those are synapses, electric impulses in the brain that carry all the messages. They determine everything a person says does or thinks from the moment of birth to the moment of death." Jenner explained.

"Death? That's what this is, a vigil?" Rick questioned.

"Yes." Jenner answered. "Or rather the playback of the vigil."

"This person died?" Andrea asked. "Who?"

"Test subject 19. Someone who was bitten and infected... and volunteered to have us record the process. Vi, scan forward to the first event."

_"Scanning to first event."_

The wires that were in the brain were a darker color now. Dark blue and reds. But the lights kept flashing. I felt Charlie let go of my hand and she went over to Daryl, and he picked her up.

"What is that?" Glenn asked.

"It invades the brain like Meningitis." Jenner said and the person who was being recorded looked like they were having trouble breathing, "The adrenal glands hemorrhage, the brain goes into shut down, then the major organs."

Then the brain went dark. There were no more lights.

"Then death." Jenner said, "Everything you ever were or ever will be... gone."

That's what happened to my dad. And most likely my mom. I walked over to a chair and sat down.

"Is that what happened to Jim?" Sophia asked her mom.

"Yes." Carol answered.

I looked over at Andrea and she inhaled a shaky breath,

"She lost somebody two days ago. Her sister." Lori told Jenner.

"I lost somebody, too. I know how devastating it is." Jenner said to Andrea before turning back to the screen, "Scan to the second event."

_"Scanning to second event."_

"The resurrection times vary wildly." Jenner told us, "We had reports of it happening in as little as three minutes. The longest we heard was eight hours. In the case of this patient, it was two hours, one minute... seven seconds."

All of the sudden, red lights began flashing inside the brain. They were shooting outwards, towards the edges.

"It restarts the brain?" Lori questioned.

"No, just the brain stem. Basically, it gets them up and moving." Jenner corrected.

"But they're not alive?"

"You tell me." Jenner replied to Rick.

"It's nothing like before. Most of that brain is dark." Rick said.

"Dark, lifeless, dead. The frontal lobe, the neocortex, the human part, that doesn't come back. The you part. Just a shell driven by instinct." Jenner said as the body began moving once again.

On the top of the screen you could see a barrel of a gun aim at the head and shoot and the body went still.

"God. What was that?" Carol asked.

"He shot his patient in the head. Didn't you?" Andrea answered.

"Vi, power down the main screen and the work stations."

_"Powering down main screen and work stations."_

"You have no idea what it is, do you?"

"It could be microbial, viral, parasitic, fungal." Jenner said.

"Or the wrath of God." Jacqui commented.

"There is that." He replied.

"Somebody must know something." Andrea said, "Somebody, somewhere."

"There are others, right?" Carol asked, "Other facilities?"

"There may be some." Jenner answered, "People like me."

"But you don't know? How can you not know?" Rick questioned.

"Everything went down. Communications, directives, all of it. I've been in the dark for almost a month." Jenner answered.

"So it's not just here. There's nothing left anywhere? Nothing? That's what you're really saying, right?" Andrea replied and Jenner didn't say anything.

"Jesus." Jacqui sighed.

"Man, I'm gonna get shit faced drunk again." Daryl mumbled.

"Dr. Jenner, I know this has been taxing for you and I hate to ask one more question, but..." Dale pointed to a clock on the wall, "That clock. It's counting down. What happens at zero?"

"The basement generators. They run out of fuel." Jenner answered.

"And then?"

Jenner grabbed his coffee and walked out of the room.

"Vi, what happens when the power runs out?" Rick asked.

_"When the power runs out, facility-wide decontamination will occur."_ Vi answered.

Everyone but Rick, Glenn, T-Dog, and Shane returned to their rooms. Daryl dropped Charlie and I off at our room and told us to pack our stuff, that he doesn't like the sound of a 'facility-wide decontamination'. I listened and Charlie and I packed our stuff. I even had her take another shower, and so did I. Who knows when we'll get another chance.

I snuck into the kitchen and took some food. A few bags of chips and some granola bars. There was water bottles in there, too. When I got back to the room I put the food and water into my bag.

As I braided Charlie's hair, the room felt a bit warm. I stood up and put a chair below the air vent and stood on it. There was no air coming through. Then the lights turned off.

"Grab you bag, Charlie." I told her before grabbing my own bag and opening the door.

"Why is everything turned off?" I heard Daryl ask.

"Energy use is being prioritized." Jenner answered and he took a drink of alcohol as he passed by my room.

"Air isn't a priority? And lights?" Dale questioned and Charlie and I followed Jenner with the others.

"It's not up to me. Zone 5 is shutting itself down." Jenner said.

"Hey! Hey, what the hell does that mean?" Daryl asked and Jenner didn't reply, "Hey, man, I'm talking to you. What do you mean it's shutting itself down? How can a building do anything?"

"You'd be surprised." Jenner replied.

"Rick?"

Below us, under the stairs, the four men came back.

"Jenner, what's happening?"

"The system is dropping all the nonessential uses of power." Jenner answered Rick, "It's designed to keep the computers running to the last possible second. That started as we reached the half hour mark. Right on schedule."

On the clock, the time was 31:28.

Jenner took another swig from the bottle as he walked up a few steps to the platform, "It was the French."

"What?"

"They were the last ones to hold out as far as I know." Jenner said, "While our people were bolting out the doors and committing suicide in the hallways, they stayed in the labs till the end. They thought they were close to a solution."

"What happened?" Jacqui asked.

"The same thing that's happening here. No power grid. Ran out of juice. The world runs on fossil fuel. I mean, how stupid is that?" Jenner replied.

"Let me tell you-"

"To hell with it, Shane. I don't even care." Rick said, trying to stop Shane before turning to us, "Lori, grab our things. Everybody, get your stuff. We're getting out of here now!"

I grabbed Daryl's hand and Charlie grabbed mine. We followed him towards the door before there was an alarm.

"What's that?" Shane asked.

_"30 minutes to decontamination." _Vi said and a countdown went onto the screen.

"Doc, what's going on here?!" Daryl asked.

"Everybody, y'all heard Rick. Get your stuff and let's go! Go now! Go!" Shane ordered.

Before we could get to the doors, they shut.

"Did you just lock us in?" Glenn asked. "He just locked us in!"


	9. Chapter 9

Jenner sat down and I let go of Daryl hand, wrapping my arms around Charlie.

"You son of a bitch." Daryl said as he went towards Jenner. "You locked us in here!"

"Shane!" Rick yelled and Shane ran towards Daryl to stop him.

Daryl tried to pull Jenner from his chair, but Shane and T-Dog pulled him away.

"Hey, Jenner, open that door now." Rick demanded.

"There's no point. Everything topside is locked down. The emergency exits are sealed." Jenner replied.

"Well, open the damn things." Dale said.

Jenner shook his head, "That's not something I control. The computers do. I told you once that front door closed, it wouldn't open again. You heard me say that. It's better this way."

"What is?" Rick asked, "What happens in 28 minutes?"

Jenner turned back to the computer and Shane kicked his chair,

"What happens in 28 minutes?!"

Jenner stood up "Do you know what this place is?! We protected the public from some very nasty stuff! Weaponized, small pox! Ebola strains that could wipe out half the country! Stuff you don't want getting out, ever!" He yelled before sitting back down, "In the event of a catastrophic power failure, in a terrorist attack, for example, HIT's are deployed to prevent any organisms from getting out."

"H.I.T.s?" Rick questioned.

"Vi, define."

"_H.I.T.s - high-impulse thermobaric fuel-air explosive consists of a two-stage aerosol ignition which produces a blast wave of significantly greater power and duration than any other known explosive except nuclear. The vacuum-pressure effect ignites the oxygen between 5,000 and 6,000 degrees and is used when the greatest loss of life and damage to structures is desired."_

"It sets the air on fire. No pain. An end to sorrow, grief, regret. Everything." Jenner said.

Charlie cried into my shirt and I kissed her head and held her tighter. I flinched when I heard the sound of glass breaking. I looked up and saw Daryl standing by the door, his bottle was smashed against the metal door, "Open the damn door!"

Shane grabbed an axe and started banging it against the door and Daryl soon followed. I sat on the chair and Charlie sat on my lap, her head on my shoulder. She was still crying, but it was quiet. I knew she was still crying because my shirt was getting wet.

Lori and Carol and their kids sat against the back of some computers, and they were also crying.

"You should've left well enough alone." Jenner said. "It would've been so much easier."

"Easier for who?" Lori questioned.

"All of you. You know what's out there. A short, brutal life and an agonizing death." Jenner turned to Andrea, "Your sister, what was her name?"

"Amy."

"Amy. You know what this does. You've seen it." Jenner looked up at Rick, "Is that really what you want for your wife and son?"

"I don't want this." Rick said.

"Can't make a dent." Shane panted.

"Those doors are designed to withstand a rocket launcher." Jenner said.

"Well, your head ain't!" Daryl yelled, getting ready to swing the axe into Jenner's head.

I don't blame him.

Shane, Rick, T-Dog, and Dale grabbed both Daryl and the axe and managed to get him away.

"You do want this." Jenner replied, "Last night you said you knew it was just a matter of time before everybody you loved was dead."

"What? You really said that? After all your big talk?" Shane questioned.

"I had to keep hope alive, didn't I?" Rick responded.

"There is no hope. There never was." Jenner said.

"There's always hope. Maybe it won't you, maybe not be here. But somebody somewhere..." Rick started.

"What part of "everything is gone" do you not understand?" Andrea asked.

"Listen to your friend. She gets it. This is what takes us down. This is our extinction event." Jenner said.

"This isn't right. You can't just keep us here." Carol replied.

"One tiny moment, a millisecond. No pain." Jenner told her.

"My daughter doesn't deserve to die." She cried.

"Wouldn't it be kinder, to be more compassionate to just hold your loved ones and wait for the clock to run down?" He asked.

We heard a gun cock and Shane went towards Jenner with a gun. Daryl grabbed Charlie and he grabbed my hand and pulled us away from Jenner,

"Open that door!" Shane yelled at the doctor. "Or I'm gonna blow your head off. Do you hear me?!"

"Brother, brother, this is not the way you do this." Rick told Shane, "We will never get out of here."

"Shane, you listen to him." Lori said.

"He dies, we all-"

Shane yelled and aimed the gun behind Jenner and shot the computers. Charlie screamed and buried her head into Daryl's neck and I covered my arms so I wouldn't be hit with the sparks. When I looked up, Shane was on the ground and Rick was standing over him, holding the gun.

"You done now? Are you done?"

"Yeah, I guess we all are." Shane answered.

Rick gave T-Dog the gun and turned to look at all of us, and we were all looking at him.

"I think your lying." Rick told Jenner.

"What?"

"You're lying." Rick repeated, "About no hope. If that were true, you'd bolted with the rest or taken the easy way out. You didn't. You chose the hard path. Why?"

"It doesn't matter." Jenner responded.

"It does matter. It always matters. You stayed when others ran. Why?" Rick asked.

"Not because I wanted to. I made a promise..." Jenner stood and pointed at the screen, "To her. My wife."

"Test subject 19 was your wife?" Lori questioned.

Daryl set Charlie down next to me and went back to hitting the door with his axe.

"She begged me to keep going as long as I could. How could I say no?" Jenner replied. "She was dying. It should've been me on that table. I wouldn't have mattered to anybody. She was a loss to the world. Hell, she ran this place. I just worked here. In our field, she was an Einstein. Me? I'm just... Edwin Jenner. She could've done something about this. Not me."

"I made a promise, too." I spoke up and everyone looked at me, "My dad was bit and my mom didn't want to leave him alone. She gave me a gun and told me to take care of my sister. I promised her I would. But now I'm forced to break that promise because we're trapped in here."

Rick turned back to Jenner, "You're wife didn't have a choice. But that's all we want. A choice, a chance."

"Let us keep trying for as long as we can."

Jenner sighed, "I told you topside's locked down. I can't open those."

He scanned his card and pressed in a code, opening the door.

"Come on!" Daryl yelled.

I gave Charlie her back pack and put mine on before grabbing her hand and we ran up the ramp to the opened door. Everyone grabbed their things and we ran. Everyone except for Jacqui, Andrea, and Dale. We couldn't use the elevator, so we ran up a bunch of stairs. Charlie wasn't going fast enough, so I held onto Daryl's crossbow as he picked her up and ran.

When we got to the exit, the doors were locked and the windows weren't breakable. Daryl set Charlie down and tried to smash it with the axe. Shane even shot it.

"The glass won't break?"

"Rick," Carol reached into her bag, "I have something that might help."

"Carol, I don't think a nail file's gonna do it."

Carol grabbed a grenade and held it towards Rick, "Your first morning at camp, when I washed your uniform I found this in your pocket."

Rick took it and we all moved away and ducked. Daryl covered us both and I made sure Charlie had her ears covered.

"Oh shi-!"

The grenade exploded and the glass broke. Rick, Shane, and Daryl got out first and helped the rest of us out. We ran towards the car, killing come walkers along the way. I got the the SUV and put Charlie inside and Daryl forced me inside next to her. I put her blanket over her head,

"Charlie, cover your ears!"

Daryl got into the driver's seat and turned to face us, "Get down!"

I wrapped my arms around Charlie's covered form and ducked down as the building exploded. It was loud and event through the car you could feel the heat. When I looked back up, the CDC was gone. All that was left was a giant pile of rubble and fire. Behind a wall of sandbags was Andrea and Dale. At least they made it out. Unlike Jacqui.

Daryl looked at us, "You okay?"

I nodded and took the blanket off of Charlie, "Yeah."

Daryl and I got out. I buckled Charlie in before going around to the driver's seat and took the keys out of my bag.

Daryl put his hand on my shoulder, "Just remember to use turn signals."

He went to get into his truck and I got into the seat and started the car and we all began driving away from the city.


	10. Chapter 10

We drove until night and we slept on the side of the road. We decided to head to Fort Benning. We decided to leave some cars behind, so we could save on gas. We left Daryl's truck, Shane's jeep, and T-Dog's van. Daryl drove on his motorcycle and T-Dog and Shane went into the RV. I let Daryl put his bags in my SUV and T-Dog took the rest of the gas from the cars.

Daryl drove in front, followed by the RV, the SUV, and Carol's old yellow car.

We drove onto the freeway but had to stop because of the cars that were piled up. But we got going again once Daryl found a way through for the RV.

"Charlie, don't look." I told her when I passed by a car that had a body in it.

We had to stop again because the RV's hose blew. I sighed and turned off the car before getting out and helped Charlie out of her seat.

"I said it, didn't I say it? A thousand times, dead in the water." Dale grumbled as we all walked to the front of the RV.

"Problem, Dale?"

"Just a small matter of being stuck in the middle of nowhere with no hope of... okay, that was dumb." Dale replied.

I saw Daryl open the trunk of a car next to the RV and look through the stuff.

"If you can't find a radiator hose here..." Shane started.

"There's a whole bunch of stuff we can find." Daryl replied.

"I can siphon more fuel from these cars for a start." T-Dog said.

"Maybe some water."

"Or food."

"This is a graveyard." Lori said and we all stopped to look at her, "I don't know how I feel about this."

"Come on, y'all. Just look around, gather what you can." Shane told us.

"Riley, I'm tired." Charlie whispered, tugging on my hand.

"All right. Come on." I replied.

I put her back into the car and covered her up so she could sleep and locked the doors before I went to go search for some supplies. I found some things for Charlie, some little girl things like a doll and a few clothes. I went into this big truck and found a pocket knife.

"Sweet." I smiled before grabbing it and tucking it into my pants next to my gun.

After finding a few more things, I set them on the hood of a car by Carl and Sophia.

"Hey, Riley, do you want-"

"Under the cars!"

I turned around and saw Rick, 'Walkers! Get under the cars!"

I grabbed Sophia's arm and we hid under a truck and Carl got under a car a few yards away from us. I put my hand around Sophia's mouth so she would be quiet. I just hope Charlie will stay asleep.

Tons of walkers began to walk by, and Sophia grabbed my other hand. Once it seemed like all of the walkers were gone, Sophia started to get out from under the truck.

"Wait, Sophi-"

She let out a yelp as two walkers saw her and tried to grab her. I moved out from my side of the truck and helped her out. She cried and I grabbed onto her hand and were got over the railing, "Come on!"

The walkers were fast, so once she was over we ran down a hill and into the woods. We kept running until I tripped and fell in a small clearing. When I got back up, someone grabbed me.

"Shhh!" It was Rick.

"Are you all right? Are you okay?" He asked us.

"Shoot them!" Sophia exclaimed.

"No! No!" Rick replied.

"He's right, Sophia. The walkers on the road would hear it. It wouldn't be just two, it'd be hundreds." I told her.

We heard the two walkers coming and Rick picked Sophia up and we began running again. We ran until we found a stream and Rick helped us into the water. There was a stick fort looking thing and Rick had us go inside,

"Hide in there. Squeeze in tight. I'll draw them away from you two." Rick said.

"No, don't leave us." Sophia cried.

"Listen listen listen listen. They don't get winded. I do." Rick responded, "I can only deal with them one at a time. I wouldn't be able to protect you."

"Let me help." I said and he looked at me.

"I can't risk that. Daryl would kill me if you got hurt, and Charlie would have no big sister to look after her." Rick replied and I sighed and grabbed Sophia's hand,

"Come on."

"If I don't make it back, run back to the highway, back to the others straight the way we came. Keep the sun on your left shoulder." Rick told us before we heard the branches snap.

Rick splashed water up at them, "Come on. You ugly son of a bitch. Come on!"

One jumped into the water and they followed Rick up stream. Once they were gone Sophia got out and I followed. I listened to Rick, keeping the sun on my left shoulder. Sophia kept her hand in mine and every little noise she squeezed my hand.

We heard growling off to our left. Oh great. More walkers.

It jumped out at us and Sophia let out a small scream and we ran in the opposite direction. I felt an arm grab onto mine and I let go of Sophia and turned to face another walker.

"Sophia, run!" I yelled as I struggled to keep the walker's mouth away from me.

I heard the walker we were running from coming closer and I reached behind me to grab the pocket knife and I stabbed the walker in the head. It fell on top of me and I laid on the ground as the other walker limped past me. The walker that was on top of me was blocking my scent. I quickly pushed the walker off of me and snuck up behind the other walker. I grabbed the back of its dirty and torn shirt and stabbed him in the back of the head.


	11. Chapter 11

**DPOV**

When the herd of walkers left, I helped T-Dog back to the others. Dale took him and I saw Carol crying, standing behind the railing with Lori. I looked around and noticed that Riley was around.

"Wha' happened?" I asked.

"Sophia and Riley were chased into the woods by a few walkers." Glenn answered.

"And no one's out there lookin' for them?!" I questioned.

"Rick followed them. But he's been gone for a while." Shane said.

"Where's Charlie?" I asked.

"In the car still."

I left and walked towards Riley's SUV. The door automatically opened and Charlie jumped into my arms, crying.

"Shhhh." I whispered, trying to calm her down, "Everythin's gonna be okay."

"Rick!"

I turned around and saw Rick climb up the small hill come back onto the highway.

"Where is she?" Carol asked.

Rick looked around, confused, "They didn't come back?"

Lori shook her head, "No."

Rick went up to Carol, "I'll go back in to the find them."

* * *

><p>I left Charlie in the RV with Dale and Chinaman, Shane, Rick and I went to a stream where Rick left them.<p>

"Sure this is the spot?" I asked Rick.

"I left them right here." Rick said. "I drew the walkers way off in that direction up the creek."

"Without a paddle, seems where we've landed." I commented.

"They were gone by the time I got back here. I figured they took off and ran back to the group. I told Riley to go that way," Rick pointed the way back to the highway, "and keep the sun on her left shoulder."

"Hey, short round, why don't you step off to one side?" I asked Chinaman, "You're mucking up the trail."

"Assuming she knows her left from her right." Shane muttered.

"Shane, she understood me fine." Rick replied.

"The girls' are tired and scared, man. They had close calls with two walkers. Got to wonder how much of what you said stuck." Shane responded.

"Got clear prints right here." I said, looking at the ground, "They did like you said, headed back to the highway. Let's spread out, make our way back. They couldn't have gotten far."

We kept walking, following the footprints. I stopped and crouched, "They did fine till right here. All they had to do was keep going. They veered off that way."

"Why would they do that?" Glenn asked.

"Maybe they saw something that spooked them, made them run off." Shane suggested.

"A walker?"

"I don't see any other footprints." I said as I looked around.

"So what do we do? All of us press on?" Shane questioned.

"No, better if you and Glenn get back up to the highway. People are gonna start panicking. Let them know we're on the girls' trail doing everything we can. But most of all, keep everybody calm." Rick told him.

"I'll keep 'em busy scavenging cars." Shane said. "Think up a few other chores. I'll keep 'em occupied."

* * *

><p>We kept walking and Rick and I eventually found a few dead walkers with a knife stuck in the back of one of them. I don't know whose it was, Riley didn't have one and I'm sure as hell Sophia didn't have one.<p>

I still saw their tracks, the walkers must have been after them. We kept walking and we found another walker. Rick killed it and he said there was skin in the teeth and fingernails. We cut it open to make sure it didn't eat one of the girls, and it didn't. It ate a woodchuck. Thank god.

We got back when it began to get dark. Everyone stood on the highway, looking at us.

"You didn't find them?" Carol asked.

"Their trail went cold." Rick told her, "We'll pick it up again at first light."

"You can't leave my daughter out there on her own to spend the night alone in the woods." Carol said.

"She ain't alone." I said, "Riley's out there with her. Besides, out in the dark's no good. We'd just be tripping ourselves. More people get lost."

"But she's 12. She can't be out there on her own. You didn't find anything?"

"I know this is hard. But I'm asking you not to panic. We know they were out there." Rick told the woman.

"And we tracked her for awhile." I spoke in.

"We have to make this an organized effort. Daryl knows the woods better than anybody." Rick said. "I've asked him to oversee this."

"Is that blood?" Carol asked.

I looked down at my jeans and noticed the blood splatters and she began to breath heavily.

"We took down a walker." Rick stated.

"Walker? Oh my god."

"There was no sign it was anywhere near Sophia or Riley." Rick reassured her.

"How can you know that?" Andrea asked him.

Rick looked at me, "We cut the son of a bitch open, made sure."

Carol sat down on the railing and Lori sat next to her.

"How could you just leave her out there to begin with?" Carol asked Rick, "How could you just leave her?"

"Those two walkers were on us. I had to draw them off. It was their only chance." Rick told her.

"Sounds like he didn't have a choice, Carol." Shane replied.

"How was she supposed to find her way back on her own? She's just a child. She's just a child." Carol cried.

Did she even care about Riley at all? She's out there with Sophia, she can take care of the both of them. All Carol's bringing up is Sophia.

"It was my only option. The only choice I could make."

"I'm sure nobody doubts that." Shane replied.

"My little girl got left in the woods." Carol stated.

Rick walked away from the group and I climbed over the railing. Dale told me that Charlie was asleep in the SUV. Good thing, too. I don't think I could tell her that I didn't find her sister.


	12. Chapter 12

**DPOV**

The next day we all set out into the woods to find Riley and Sophia. I had Charlie stay back with T-Dog and Dale, I didn't want to risk her getting lost, too. After a few minutes of being the the woods, I found a tent.

"They could be in there." Shane stated.

"Could be a bunch of things in there." I replied before walking closer.

I took out my knife and I tried looking inside the tent without opening the door, just in case there was a walker. When I didn't see or hear anything, I looked back at Rick and shrugged. Carol walked over,

"Sophia, sweetie, are you in there? Sophia, it's mommy. Sophia. We're all here, baby. It's mommy."

"Riley, you in there?" I asked before Rick came over.

I began to open the tent door slowly. When we both looked inside, we covered out mouths and noses. Damn, it stunk in there. Smells like a skunk died in there and has been rotting for at least a week.

I went inside and looked at the dead body in the chair, maggots all over his head, his jaw blown off.

"Daryl?" I heard Carol call out, "Daryl?"

I grabbed the gun from the guy's hand and put it in my waistband before walking out of the tent, "It ain't her."

"What's in there?" Andrea asked.

"Some guy." I answered, "Did what Jenner said. Opted out. Ain't that what he called it?"

All of the sudden church bells began ringing and everyone ran in that direction.

"What direction?" Rick asked.

"I think that way. I'm pretty sure." Shane answered, looking in the direction that we were going, "Damn, it's hard to tell out here."

"If we hear them, then maybe Sophia does, too." Carol said.

"Someone's ringing those bells, maybe calling others." Glenn commented.

"Or signaling they found them."

"They could be ringing them themselves." Rick said.

We eventually got to the church. Shane didn't think it was the right one, it had no steeples or bells. But, what other church is there around here? When we opened the doors, there were only three walkers inside. And no Riley or Sophia.

* * *

><p><strong>RPOV<strong>

Sophia's footprints have faded a long time ago. Now I'm just praying she walked in the direction I'm heading in. I just hope no walkers got to her. I kept walking for a few hours, reaching a field, before I heard groans behind me. I turned around and saw a small herd of walkers coming towards me.

"Crap." I whispered before running.

I ran across the field and back into the woods, keeping ahead of the herd by many yards before I came across a small cliff. It had to be at least 10 feet.I looked back at the herd, which was getting closer, and I took a deep breath before jumping. I landed on my feet and let out a small scream from the pain that was in my right ankle. I quickly sucked it up and kept running, except slower due to my limp.

I heard the walkers again and I turned around and saw them run off the cliff. Some of them snapped their limbs, others didn't, and they still kept trying to come after me.

I kept going until it got darker. I saw a big house and formed small smile. I opened it and went inside, locking it behind me. I limped quietly into the kitchen and searched the drawers for a knife. When I grabbed one, I whistled and waited to see if a walker would come out. When none did, I went around the house. I walked into a small living room and found a blanket. I grabbed it and a pillow from the living room and I heard banging on the windows and walls. The walkers found me. I walked back into the kitchen and found a small cupboard. I could fit in that. If I slept in there, then maybe the walkers would leave by morning so I could go search for Sophia.

* * *

><p><strong>DPOV<strong>

After the church the group separated. Again. Carl, Shane, and Rick went one way, and the others and I went to head back to the highway. About half way back, we heard one single gunshot. I thought nothing of it, but Lori obviously did. She kept looking back towards the way the gunshot came from.

"You still worrying about it?" Andrea asked her.

"It was a gunshot."

"We all heard it." I replied,

"Why one?" She asked, "Why just one gunshot?"

I shrugged, "Maybe they took down a walker."

"Please don't patronize me. You know Rick wouldn't risk a gunshot to put down one walker." Lori responded. "Or Shane. They'd do it quietly."

Huh. The bitch is smarter than I though.

"Shouldn't they have caught up with us by now?" Carol questioned.

"There's nothing we can do about it anyway. Can't run around these woods chasing echoes." I said.

"So what do we do?" Lori asked.

"Same as we've been. Beat the bush for Riley and Sophia, work our way back to the highway." I answered.

"I'm sure they'll hook up with us back at the RV." Andrea said and we continued walking.

* * *

><p><strong>APOV<strong>

I heard walkers. A lot of them. I grabbed my knife from its holster and carefully headed towards the sound. I stood behind a tree and saw at least fifteen walkers surrounding a house. There had to be something in there. Something alive.

I climbed the tree quietly and sat on a big branch high up. If the walkers didn't clear by morning, I'd get them. It's too dangerous in the dark.


	13. Chapter 13

**RPOV**

I woke up when I heard a knife lodging itself into a walker's head. The sound is very distinct. And it ain't a sound you forget. I quickly scooted back to the very back of the cupboard. It could be anyone out there.

Then I heard someone knock on the door.

"Hey! Anyone in there? These walkers were banging on these walls for a reason!"

It was a woman. I opened the cupboard door and fell on the kitchen floor when my injured foot touched the ground. I slowly lifted myself off of the ground and she knocked again,

"I know you're in there."

I went to the window and saw her. She was wearing tight black jeans, combat boots, black tank top and a camo denim jacket. Blood was splattered across her exposed upper chest and face and her clothes. On her back was a dark duffel bag. Her brown hair was in a braid and in her hand was a bloody machete. Attached to her hip was a gun in a holster, on the other side was a holster for her machete.

I grabbed my gun from my waistband and went over to the door and opened it. I aimed my gun at her and she smiled,

"Hi."

* * *

><p><strong>DPOV<strong>

Lori left with this chick on a horse. Carl was shot in an accident. This world really hates kids.

Glenn and T-Dog went to the farm where Carl, Shane, Rick, and Lori were are. T-Dog had an infection from his cut and wouldn't last the night without antibiotics. This morning, Dale made a sign on a yellow mustang. If Riley and Sophia made it back to the highway, they would see it. Everyday someone from the group is gonna come back to the highway to see if they're here and there is also some supplies sitting on the hood.

I took drove my bike to the farm, while Dale drove his RV with Charlie inside, Andrea drove Shane's new Hyundai and Carol drove Riley's SUV. When we got there, a bunch of strangers stood outside. Must be the family that lives on the farm. Then the rest of our group came out.

"How is he?" Dale asked Rick,

"He'll pull through." Lori answered as Charlie walked over to me and I picked her up, "Thanks to Hershel and his people."

"And Shane." Rick added, "We'd lost Carl if not for him."

I looked behind them to see Shane standing on the porch. His hair was shaved and he was wearing overalls. What the hell happened to him?

"Can I go see Carl?" Charlie asked me and I looked over at Lori.

"He's asleep right now, Charlie. But when he wakes up I'll take you to him." Lori smiled at the girl and Charlie nodded.

"How'd it happen?"

"Hunting accident." Rick answered, "That's all. Just a stupid accident."

* * *

><p><strong>RPOV<strong>

I sat on the floor while the woman, Alexa, wrapped my ankle with some gauze.

"Where's your group?" She asked me.

"On the highway around here. Me and this other girl I was with got separated when a herd came through." I answered.

"Where is she?"

I shrugged, "Walkers came out of the woods. It tackled me and I told Sophia to run. Once I killed them, I followed her tracks until I couldn't see them anymore. Then another herd came after me and I was holed up here."

"The highway, you said? That's hours away from here." Alexa replied.

"I've been running for awhile." I responded and she patted my calf,

"All done."

She stood up and went to rummage through the cupboards for food. I gently put my sock and boot on my foot and stood up.

"Stay off that foot! Sit down and we'll leave in a few hours. You need to rest your leg." Alexa said.

I sighed and sat on the small sofa and put my leg up. Alexa came back with a small can.

"This is the only thing I could find." She opened it up to reveal sardines.

"Ew. Gross." I replied.

"Well, you're going to eat it. Whether you like it or not. Your going to need your energy if we're going to head back to the highway to your group." Alexa said.

* * *

><p><strong>DPOV<strong>

After the funeral for the man, Otis, I went out to search for Riley and Sophia. I left Charlie with Lori so she could go see Carl. After going back to the creek, I walked away from it. Eventually I found a house in a clearing with dead walkers around it.

I kicked it open and looked around. No walkers. The place was a mess. No one's lived here in a while. I was in the doorway and I noticed something on the top of a garbage bin. It was a pack or sardines. As I picked it up, I noticed a cupboard that was slightly open on the other side of the room. I set the can down and raised my crossbow and slowly walked towards it.

When I opened it, nothing was in there except some vinegar and weird oils and spices. On the bottom, though, was a yellow blanket and a pillow. Only someone Riley's height or smaller could sleep in there.

I walked outside and looked around, "Riley! Sophia!"

All I heard were some birds. I noticed something white in the brush. I walked over and saw that it was a flower. A Cherokee Rose. I grabbed the two on the bush and began walking back into the woods.


	14. Chapter 14

**RPOV**

Alexa and I couldn't go very fast. My ankle wouldn't heal properly if I kept putting all my weight on it. She found me a large stick to lean on. I'll admit it, I didn't trust her at first, but now I think she's okay. I mean, she wrapped my ankle up and now she's leading me back to the highway, and maybe we'll find Sophia in the process.

I missed Charlie. I missed Daryl. Hell, I even miss Carl and he always annoyed the hell out of me.

"What are you thinking about?" Alexa asked.

"My sister." I answered.

"You have a sister?" She questioned.

I nodded, "Her name's Charlie. She's six. I just hope Daryl's taking good care of her."

"Daryl?"

"He's this guy in my group. Since this started, he's sorta've been taking care of us. He taught me how to use a gun." I said.

"I'm sure Daryl's taking care of your sister." Alexa replied before looking back at me, "Where's your parents?"

"Dead." I answered. "They died at the start of all this."

"I'm sorry." Alexa said.

I shrugged, "What happened to your family?"

"Never had one. At least, not really. My parents died when I was a kid and I was in the foster system until I was 18." Alexa answered.

"No group?" I questioned.

"I used to be part of a group. Then we were attacked." She replied.

"By walkers?"

"No. By people. I was out on a run by myself and when I came back, everyone was dead and all of our stuff was taken." She said.

"Sorry that happened." I replied.

"It's in the past. I'm over it." Alexa responded.

We've walked for a few hours until my ankle got really sore. We didn't find a cabin or some place to sleep, so Alexa helped me up a tree and tied me to it with some rope she had. Then she climbed the tree next to mine.

I sat there for a while. Just thinking. I was hungry, really hungry. I hadn't eaten at all today and the sardines didn't exactly fill my stomach.

"You can go to sleep, Riley. I can take watch." Alexa whispered.

"You need to sleep at some point." I replied.

"But I'm not the injured one here. With your ankle, we can only walk a few hours a day. You can't overwork it." Alexa responded.

"You're not my mother. So stop acting like it." I mumbled before closing my eyes.

* * *

><p><strong>DPOV<strong>

After Rick and Shane left, Hershel finished stitching me up and also left me alone. Well, not exactly alone. When I woke up after being shot by Andrea, Charlie was curled up beside me. Rick told me she refused to move.

Neither my tent or her's was set up, so I let her spend the night. Carol brought us both dinner and we ate it in the bed. After we were done Carol took her to get ready for bed. Charlie came back in her night gown with a picture book and her doll.

I read the book to her and she fell asleep halfway through. I sighed and set the book on the table before falling asleep.

* * *

><p>The next morning Charlie went back to camp for breakfast and I had the wonderful opportunity to take a shower. Once I was done Andrea and Carol helped me to my tent which they set up that morning.<p>

After Andrea brought me a boring ass book, Charlie came running in with peaches and jerky. Once she gave me my share, I sent her off to learn how to shoot with the others. Charlie's the youngest in the group, the most vulnerable. I needed her to know how to shoot.


	15. Chapter 15

**RPOV**

I was absolutely starving. I haven't eaten for a few days. Neither Alexa or I know how to hunt, and we didn't want to waste any bullets or risk walkers hearing our shots. We've found a few cabins, but none of them had food. And if they did, it was far past the expiration date.

"You okay?" Alexa asked me.

"I'm hungry." I said.

"I know. I am, too." She replied. "We'll find a house or cabin at some point, and maybe they'll have some food in there that's safe enough to eat."

And she was right. After another hour or so of walking, we found the creek. After a small bath and refilling our water bottles we began walking again. We followed it until we found a cabin. In there was two cans of beans. Alexa and I decided to share one can tonight, and the other tomorrow morning.

"Do you think they're probably gone by now?" I asked Alexa as I settled in on the couch for the night.

"Your group?" I nodded, "I don't know. Maybe they left the highway, but settled in somewhere nearby, and they're still looking for you and Sophia."

During the few days we've been walking, we haven't seen any sign of Sophia. It's like she just disappeared.

* * *

><p><strong>DPOV<strong>

"You can't." I heard Carol say from behind me when I lifted the saddle onto the rack.

"I'm fine." I replied.

"Hershel said you need to heal." She stated.

"Yeah, I don't care."

"Well, I do. Rick's going out later to follow the trail." Carol responded.

I opened the stall door and began to put the reins on the horse, "Yeah, well, I ain't gonna sit around and do nothin'."

"No, you're gonna go out there and get yourself hurt even worse. We don't know if we're gonna find them, Daryl. We don't." I turned around to look at her, "I don't."

"What?"

"Can't lose you, too." Carol said.

I dropped the reins onto the ground threw the saddle off the rack. I felt my stitches pull and I held onto my side.

"Are you all right?" She asked.

"Just leave me be!" I yelled at her and I walked towards the door, "Stupid bitch."

* * *

><p>A few hours later I realized I was a bit harsh on Carol. She was just looking out for me. I was mad because she didn't want me out their looking for Riley and her daughter.<p>

I went to find the woman, and when I did, I brought her out to a pond, where I found a bush full of Cherokee Roses. When we got back to camp, everyone besides Shane, Dale, and Rick were gathered around outside the house.

"Do you know what's goin' on?" T-Dog asked.

"Where is everyone?"

"You haven't seen Rick?" Glenn questioned.

"He went off with Hershel. We were supposed to leave a couple hours ago." Andrea answered.

"Yeah you were." I cut in, "What the hell?"

"Rick told us he was going out."

"Damn it! Isn't anybody taking this seriously?" I questioned, "We got us a damn trail!" I saw Shane heading towards us, "Oh, here we go. What's all this?"

"You with me, man?" Shane asked as he handed me a gun, "Time to grow up. You already got yours?"

"Yeah. Where's Dale?" Andrea asked.

"He's on his way." Shane answered.

"Thought we couldn't carry." T-Dog stated as Shane handed him a handgun.

"We can and we have to." Shane replied, "Look, it was one thing sitting around here picking daisies when we thought this place was supposed to be safe. But now we know it ain't." He went over to Glenn, "How bout you, man? You gonna protect yours?" Glenn took the gun and Shane turned to Maggie, "Can you shoot?"

"Can you stop?" She replied, "You do this, you hand out these guns, my dad will make you leave tonight."

"We have to stay, Shane." Carl walked down the porch steps with Charlie behind him.

"What is this?" Lori asked.

"We ain't goin' anywhere, okay? Now look, Hershel, he's just gotta understand. Okay? He's just gotta have to." Shane said and he took out a gun and headed towards the boy, "Now we have to find Riley and Sophia. Am I right? Now, I want you to take this. You take it, Carl, and you keep your mother safe. You do whatever it takes. You know how. Go on, take the gun and do it."

Lori pushed her son back, "Rick said no guns. This is not your call. This is not your decision to make."

"Oh shit."

We looked out towards the woods and saw Jimmy, Rick and Hershel. They were carrying walkers on a snare pole. The group ran towards the field and I turned to Charlie,

"You stay with Lori and don't leave her side, you hear me?"

She nodded and ran over to Lori, holding her hand and I followed the rest of the group.

"Are you kidding me? You see? You see what they're holding onto?" Shane questioned and I aimed my gun towards the male walker.

"I saw who I'm holding onto!" Hershel yelled back.

"Naw, man, you don't." Shane replied.

"Shane, just let us do this and then we can talk." Rick said.

"What you want to talk about, Rick? These things ain't sick. They're not people. They're dead! Ain't gonna feel nothing for them 'cause all they do, they kill! These things right here, they're the things that killed Amy. They killed Otis. They're gonna kill all of us!" Shane yelled.

"Shane, shut up!" Rick cut in.

"Hey, Hershel man, let me ask you something. Could a living breathing person, could they walk away from this?" Shane questioned, taking his gun out and shooting the female walker in the stomach and chest, "That's three round to the chest. Could someone who's alive, could they just take that?! Why is it still coming?!" He shot it again, "That's its heart, its lungs. Why is it still coming?!"

"Shane, enough!" Rick exclaimed.

"Yeah, you're right, man. That is enough." Shane walked up to the walker and shot it in the head.

* * *

><p><strong>RPOV<strong>

There were a lot of gunshots in the distance. What was going on?

"A group must've gotten overrun or something." Alexa commented.

"What if it's my group?" I questioned.

She stopped and turned to me, "Do you want to check it out?"

I nodded, "It might be them."

* * *

><p><strong>DPOV<strong>

We all stood there. Andrea, T-Dog, Glenn, Shane and I shot down all of the walkers in the barn. All you could hear now is crying. I looked behind me and saw Charlie with Lori's arms wrapped around her and Carl.

I turned back around when I heard another groan. A small body came out of the barn. Not just any small body. It was Sophia.

"Sophia? Sophia!" Carol ran by me and I grabbed her and pulled her to the ground, "Sophia."

She cried and Sophia walked towards us and out of the corner of my eye I saw Rick walk towards Sophia. He aimed his gun and shot her.


	16. Chapter 16

**DPOV**

Carol ran off to the RV, crying. I got Charlie and brought her to the house and comforted her until she stopped crying. I left her with Patricia and went to the RV to sit with Carol.

After the funeral of Hershel's wife and step-son, I was planning on searching for Riley in the woods. She wasn't in the barn, I checked. I'd rather know she was dead or a walker than not know at all.

I heard a knock behind me and Lori stepped into the RV, "They're ready. Come on."

"Why?" Carol asked.

"'Cause that's your little girl." I answered.

She looked up at me, "That's not my little girl. That's some other... thing. My Sophia was alone in the woods. Not even Riley was with her. All this time I thought... She didn't cry herself to sleep. She didn't go hungry. She didn't try to find her way back. Sophia died a long time ago."

Lori left and I soon followed her. I went to the house to grab Charlie and we stood to the side during the funeral. Once it was over, I brought her back to my tent and had her take a nap before leaving for the woods.

* * *

><p><strong>RPOV<strong>

"When do you think we'll be there?" I asked Alexa.

"About an hour. Maybe half an hour on that ankle of yours." She stopped and turned to me, "You need a break?"

I shook my head, "I can keep going."

Alexa crouched towards the ground and took off her bag. I looked at her weirdly,

"Well, are you getting on or not?"

"I don't need help." I told her.

"We'll reach the source of the sound faster if you just hop on and let me carry you." Alexa replied.

I sighed and placed my hands on her shoulder and she wrapped her hands behind my knees and lifted me up. Alexa bent down again and grabbed her bag and handed it to me before she continued walking.

* * *

><p><strong>DPOV<strong>

After I came back empty handed, I took down my tent with Charlie and she helped me set it up away from the camp, by some small brick structure. I needed to be away from the camp for a while.

I was sharpening some sticks to use as arrows and Charlie was sitting next to me, coloring in a notebook the blonde girl found when I heard footsteps coming towards me,

"Moving to the suburbs?"

Oh great.

"Listen, Beth's in some kind of catatonic shock. We need Hershel." Lori said.

"Yeah. So what?" I replied.

"So I need you to run into town real quick and bring him and Rick back. Daryl?" Lori responded.

I stopped and looked at her, "Your bitch went window-shopping. You want him? Fetch him yourself. I got better things to do."

"What's the matter with you?" She asked me, "Why are you being so selfish?"

"Selfish?!" I stood up, "Listen to me, Olive Oyl. I was out there looking for Riley and Sophia every single day! I took a bullet and arrow in the process. Don't you tell me about me getting my hands dirty! You want those two idiots? Have a nice ride. I'm done looking for people."

I sat down and continued sharpening the stick. The only person I'd look for right now is Riley.

* * *

><p><strong>APOV<strong>

It was dark now. Riley was asleep against my back when I stepped into a field. In the distance, I saw a house with its lights on. People. And not dead people either. People who were alive.

I didn't wake the girl up as I walked towards the house. She needed the rest. I hope they have food. I'm starving, and I'm sure Riley is, too. I've been giving her most of my food, well, the food we have been able to find. I'm also pretty thirsty. Riley and I haven't been able to stop yet to boil the water we got at the creek.

As we got closer, I noticed some tents outside the house by a tree. So a group lives here. It could be Riley's.

I checked all the tents and the big RV, no one was in there. So I walked onto the porch and rang the door bell.

The door opened and revealed an old man with a fishing hat. He stared at me for a moment before looking at Riley,

"Hi. Are you Riley's group?" I asked.


	17. Chapter 17

**APOV**

"Where'd you find her?" A man with shaved hair asked.

We were all sitting at a dining room table, eating dinner. Riley was still asleep, but she was upstairs in a guest bedroom.

"She was in a farmhouse east from here." I answered, "Walkers surrounded the place."

"Once Hershel is back, we'll have him check on her." A blonde woman, Patricia, told me.

"Who's Hershel?" I asked.

"This is his farm. He was a veterinarian before the dead began to rise." Another blonde woman, Andrea, answered.

"Riley has a hurt ankle. I don't know whether its broken or sprained, but its swollen." I said.

Dale, the man who answered the door, stood up, "I'll go tell Daryl and Charlie."

Maggie, Hershel's daughter, led me upstairs and to a bathroom. She gave me a green dress with some design on it to change into and I gave her my clothes for her to wash.

After a really nice hot shower, I changed into the short dress and walked into Riley's room as I towel dried my hair. I stopped in the doorway when I saw a man sitting next to the bed. That must be Daryl.

"Oh, sorry." I took a step backwards and bumped my shoulder against the door frame and I winced.

I began to leave but he stopped me, "Wait."

I turned back towards him,

"You're the one who found her, right?" Daryl asked.

I licked my bottom lip and nodded.

"Thank you. I was just about to give up lookin' for her." He said.

I slowly walked back into the room, "You're Daryl, right?"

He nodded,

"She talked about you. How you take care or her and her sister." I looked around the room, "Where is she anyway?"

"Sleepin' in my tent. Didn't want to wake her up." He answered.

"I'll, uh, leave you alone now." I awkwardly said before leaving.

* * *

><p><strong>DPOV<strong>

The next morning I got Charlie and brought her to her sister, who was still asleep. I brought her some breakfast and left a plate for Riley before getting ready to leave with T-Dog, Andrea and Shane to get Rick, Glenn, and Hershel. We were just about to leave when a red car began driving down the road. It was them.

"Patricia, prepare the shed for surgery." Hershel ordered and I noticed some blood on his shirt.

"Who the hell is that?" T-Dog asked, pointing at the car.

There was a kid in there, no older than 20.

"That's Randall." Glenn answered.

While Hershel operated on Randall, we brought Rick up to see Riley, who was now awake.

"Daryl!" She smiled at me.

"Hey, kid." I smirked at her and patted her head, "You scared the hell out of us."

"Sorry."

Next to her on the bed was Charlie. And by the window the woman who saved Riley was sitting in a chair. I should probably learn her name.

"Where's Sophia?" Riley asked, looking from me to Rick.

I cleared my throat and sat down next to the bed, "Riley, Sophia's dead. We found her yesterday as a walker."

Riley's smile fell and she just stared at me, "Daryl, your jokes ain't funny."

"I ain't jokin', Riley." I replied.

She covered her face with her hands, "We were heading back to the highway and... and walkers came after us. I told her to run and after I killed the walkers, I tried to find her."

I sat on the bed and wrapped my arms around her, "It ain't your fault."

* * *

><p>I left Riley and Charlie alone upstairs with that girl. The rest of the group was down stairs talking about that kid Rick brought back.<p>

"We couldn't just leave him behind. He would've bled out, if he lived that long." Rick said.

"It's gotten bad in town." Glenn commented.

"What do we do with him?" Andrea asked.

Then Hershel walked in, "I repaired his calf muscle as best I can, be he'll probably have nerve damage. Won't be on his feet for at least a week."

"When he is, we'll give him a canteen, take him out to the main road, send him on his way." Rick responded.

"Isn't that the same as leaving him for the walkers?"

"He'll have a fighting chance." Rick replied.

"Just gonna let him go?" Shane questioned, "He knows where we are."

"He was blindfolded the whole way here." Rick said "He's not a threat."

"How many of them were there? You killed three of their men, you took one of them hostage, but they just ain't gonna come lookin'?"

"They left him for dead." Rick replied, "No one is looking."

"We should still post a guard." T-Dog commented.

"He's out cold for now, will be for hours." Hershel said.

"You know what? I'm gonna go get him some flowers and candy." Shane scoffed and started heading towards the other room, "Look at this folks, we back in fantasyland. "

"You know, we haven't even dealt with what you did at my barn yet." Hershel snapped at him, "Let me make this perfectly clear, once and for all, this is my farm. Now I wanted you gone. Rick talked me out of it, but that doesn't mean I have to like it. So do us both a favor, keep your mouth shut."

Shane sighed and left the house, slamming the door as he did.

"We're not gonna do anything about it today. Let's just cool off." Rick told Hershel.

Once everyone started leaving, I walked up to the old man.

"Uh, the other girl we were lookin' for, Riley. She's upstairs. Came back last night. I'd appreciate it if you took a look at her." I told him.

"I'll go up there once I get changed. Don't want to spook the girl with the blood stains." Hershel replied before leaving.


End file.
